§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he intends to publish details of the position of specialist teachers in relation to his proposals to restructure teachers' salary scales. [72507]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisThere is no statutory definition of the term "specialist teacher".
The technical consultation document on pay and performance management, published on 1 February 1999, sets out the Government's proposals in respect of teachers' salary structure.
Paragraph 59 seeks views on the proposal that teachers below the new performance threshold who make additional contributions to teaching and learning, could be awarded salary supplements by the governing body on the advice of the head. Paragraph 65 proposes that, once a teacher has passed threshold assessment, that teacher's allocated salary range on the upper pay spine should reflect the nature of his or her responsibilities as well as personal performance.
The Government propose to ask the School Teachers' Review Body, following the Green Paper consultation, to advise what guidance should be available to schools on how to reflect teacher responsibilities in setting salary levels below and above the threshold.